The Moon is the Wrong Way Up
Looking at the WIG map, it’s clear that I’ve come rather a long way. That is also evident from the fact that it is still January but I am going a deep mahogany colour and that no one understands sarcasm here.
However, the thing that has really brought it home is the moon, which has contrived to be the wrong way up every single night so far. It’s currently a very thin crescent, sitting with the thickest part closest to the horion so that it looks like a luck-filled horseshoe. I am sure that the moon is not meant to look like this at any stage during its cycle.
I also don’t quite understand how I can tell it is the wrong way up. It’s the the sky, after all, and surely if I just lie 90degrees to either side I can make it right again. But somehow that doesn’t work. Maybe it’s because the stars look odd too? Orion dominates the sky over us, waving his sword, but I can’t see the Plough at all. Apparently it should be possible. I am less than convinced by this.
Seeing the sky so very different is rather disconcerting. I’ve never been one to look at it that much, but I’m pretty sure it’s wrong here. And sometimes that makes me feel a bit wrong too.
Thankfully, I then remember that if I were in England I wouldn’t be able to see the stars at all for clouds, and am happy.
P.S. Oh, and the light pollution is not much less here. There are still generally sod-all stars to see.
January 29, 2009 6:47 am 4 Comments
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By Tancredi, January 29, 2009 @ 8:52 am
You can still see the plough from Mombasa, but it’s going to be a lot closer to the horizon. Look north, and if there’s not too much haze you should be able to see it.
As for the moon - it’s not the sky that has turned, it’s you! Think about it like this: imagine yourself standing on the North Pole, looking west. What you perceive as being “horizontal” (the line of your horizon) is parallel to the equator of the Earth. Now travel to the Equator, and look west again - what you now perceive as being “horizontal” is at 90° to the Equator! You’re standing on your side (with respect to some reference frame outside the Earth), but of course you don’t notice this because the Earth is always pulling you towards its centre. If you then travel further south to a similar latitude to Britain (say, the southern tip of South America), the moon will now look the same as it did back home, except the phases will be reversed! The waxing moon will be shaped like a C, and the waning moon shaped like a D. The moon, of course, hasn’t changed, it’s just you standing on your head
By Malcolm, January 29, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
Egyptian mythology has the moon as a boat, which is quite cool and only makes sense once you realise it’s sideways
By mum, January 29, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
you are a damn lucky zebra
stop complaining
lol what a smashing time you are all having
xxx
By Anon, February 6, 2009 @ 9:11 am
Tell mummy, “It’s the moon, lemur”